The image of Grigory Potanin in the public consciousness of Siberians: From modernity to post-modernity and beyond

The paper focuses on the mechanisms by which the image of an eminent explorer of Siberia and Central Asia, Grigory Potanin, was institutionalized in the public consciousness of Siberians at the turn of the 19th century, and discusses the transmission of this image to the following generations as a public value. The hero phenomenon is treated from a temporal and topological point of view. The significance of Potanin's work is explained by the fact that the issues he put on the agenda in modern times are gaining more attention in the post-modern era, and the ideas that he voiced pose unsolved problems that are taken on by new generations of scholars. The mechanisms of institutionalizing the image of Potanin in the public consciousness of the late Soviet and post-Soviet eras were the protest against the ideological markers and stigmas of the Soviet era, the concern to honor the great scholar and the intensification in the regional critical thought both on the part of the population and the state institutions in Siberia. The work of Potanin is contrasted against the work of Frederick Turner, an American scientist who at the same time advanced his “Frontier Thesis”. Siberia, as a frontier, formed Potanin's culture, which manifested itself in his scientific, public and publishing endeavors. The scholar's image was further fixed in the Siberian public consciousness by the circle of his allies and supporters. Another event that helped to institutionalize the image of this great personality, the first Distinguished Citizen of Siberia, was the reburial of his remains. Potanin's story incorporated both the Soviet features of preserving memories of outstanding persons and a certain mythology - the alleged role Queen Elizabeth II played in maintaining Potanin's grave. The paper concludes that a number of circumstances now uphold the image of Potanin in Siberians' public consciousness: the development of the Trans-Ural territory, the unwavering enthusiasm of scholars and journalists directed towards Potanin's personality, the perpetuation of his memory in street names in Russia and Kazakhstan, and the location of the “Siberian partriarch's” grave in the grove of Tomsk State University.

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